By Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen
HANOI/HAIPHONG/BEIJING (Reuters) -Asia’s strongest storm this yr made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, the meteorological company stated, killing no less than two folks after tearing by means of China’s island of Hainan, the place it reportedly killed one other two and injured dozens extra.
Tremendous Hurricane Yagi hit island districts of north Vietnam round 1300 native time (0600 GMT), producing winds of as much as 160 kph (99 mph) close to its centre, having misplaced energy from its peak of 234 kph (145 mph) in Hainan a day earlier.
A physique was recovered close to the coastal metropolis of Halong, whereas a dozen folks had been lacking at sea, state media reported on Saturday. Earlier within the day, a 53-year-old motorcyclist was killed after a tree fell on him within the northern Hai Duong province, in keeping with the state media.
Yagi had already claimed the lives of no less than 16 folks within the Philippines, the primary nation it hit, having fashioned east of the archipelago earlier within the week.
Vietnam’s coastal metropolis of Haiphong, an industrial hub with a inhabitants of two million those that hosts factories from overseas multinationals and native carmaker VinFast (NASDAQ:), was among the many hardest hit by winds with speeds of as much as 90 kph.
Because the storm approached, town skilled energy outages on Saturday, authorities stated. The sturdy winds smashed home windows in buildings and waves had been as excessive as three meters after they hit the coast, in keeping with a Reuters witness. Timber fell and steel roofing sheets flew away from buildings and parking heaps, footage and footages on native media confirmed.
Earlier in Hainan, which has a inhabitants of greater than 10 million, the storm felled bushes, flooded roads and reduce energy to greater than 800,000 properties.
AIRPORTS CLOSED
Vietnam evacuated almost 50,000 folks from coastal cities and deployed 450,000 navy personnel, the federal government stated.
It additionally suspended operations for a number of hours at 4 airports on Saturday, together with Hanoi’s Noi Bai, the busiest within the north, cancelling greater than 300 flights.
Excessive colleges had been additionally closed in 12 northern provinces, together with within the capital Hanoi, which has a inhabitants of 8.5 million.
Authorities within the capital suspended public transport on buses and its two elevated metro traces on Saturday afternoon, state media reported. The meteorological company has warned of dangers of heavy flooding within the metropolis centre.
Hanoi resident Nguyen Manh Quan, 40, stated: “The wind is powerful sufficient to blow an individual over.”
Dang Van Phuong, additionally 40, stated: “I’ve by no means seen a storm like this, you may’t drive in these winds.”
Typhoons have gotten stronger, fuelled by hotter oceans, amid local weather change, scientists say.
Final week, Hurricane Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the nation in a long time.
Yagi is known as after the Japanese phrase for goat and the constellation of Capricornus.